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After Malaysia last year, Oyo now announces presence in Nepal

After realising how its fast-paced, money guzzling growth strategy wasn’t really working, Softbank-backed Oyo Rooms is now finally looking at some phased expansion. As a result of the same, the upstart has now ventured into its second overseas market (not really overseas I’d say) — Nepal.

If you’d remember, Oyo had already gone foreign with the launch of its operations in Malaysia. The company, after establishing a decently strong network of over 200 hotels in the country, has now moved in to Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu.

Ritesh Agarwal, the founder and CEO of the company, said in a mailed statement,

OYO has been at the forefront of the small and budget hotels revolution in India. Building the category grounds-up, we have employed technology and operational acumen to deliver delight to our customers and unparalleled benefits to partners. Our network has witnessed robust growth to become the largest in India. After our successful overseas foray in Malaysia, we are now thrilled to offer OYO’s hassle-free and standardized stay experience to travellers visiting Nepal.

This further expansion in international markets, comes on the heels of various reports, which have almost confirmed Oyo’s current ~$250Mn fundraise from Softbank, targeted primarily at international expansion.

A report elsewhere in the media, also suggests that while SoftBank was ready to give $500 million to the Ritesh Agarwal-led startup, other investors of the company opposed the move. It is not yet clear if other existing investors of the company are participating in this round or not.